The Horror Show
by ANBU Kakashi's Girl
Summary: Sakura's life comes to a screeching hault when she's bitten by a demon. She tries to live on without being a burden to anyone, and turns to an unlikely source for strength. KakaSaku and GaaSaku with hints of other pairings.
1. Strange Encounters

!!! **NOTE! PLEASE READ**! !!! I would like to thank everyone for reading The Horror Show. There have been a lot of kind and encouraging reviews. However, I'm not happy with the way it's turning out. This entry is the first chapter, but it's extended. In a few days, I'll delete the other chapters so this is the only one left. I was planning on making this fic on a wide spectrum of relationships, but I'm mainly focusing it on Kakashi x Sakura/ Gaara x Sakura. I'm sorry for this inconvenience, I just want The Horror Show to be something I'm really proud of.   
  
Chapter One - Strange Encounters (extended)  
  
"Are you ready, Sakura?" Kakashi whispered to his teammate. She nodded stiffly. He could see that she was nervous. "Hey, everyone gets like this on their first Jounin mission. Don't worry about it. I won't let anything happen."  
  
"I wish Naruto or Sasuke were here," she said softly.   
  
"What, I'm not good enough for you?" he said jokingly, pushing her lightly. She almost lost her balance and fell out of the tree they was perched in. His face instantly became serious. "Besides, you're a Jounin now. You don't need them with you for your comfort blanket."  
  
"I know, Kakashi, It's just that I'm not used to doing this on my own..." she looked away from him, down to the camp they had been watching for the past hour.  
  
"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not going to let anything happen to you," he said lazily. "No more talk, time to go!"  
  
Without warning he shoved Sakura as hard as he could out of the tree. With a loud thud she landed to the hard ground in the center of the bandit camp. The thieves began to file out of their tent, circling the pink hair ninja.  
  
"KAKASHI!" She screamed furiously as she as she grabbed two kunais from her pouch. "YOU SAID YOU WERE GOING TO HELP!"  
  
"Nope! I said I wouldn't let anything happen to you," he answered back, smiling. "Hurry up and finish them so we can go back home."  
  
The first bandit lunged at her with a sword in hand, but she easily deflected it with the kunai in her left hand and used the one in her right to stab him in the back. He fell to the floor, screaming. _'One down, seven to_ _go,'_ Sakura thought to herself.  
  
One of the bandits took out a throwing star and lobbed it at her. She dropped a kunia and caught it and sent it back at the thief, nailing him in the neck.  
  
Kakashi, in the mean time, took out his favorite book and leaned up against the tree trunk, still perched on a branch about ten feet up. He paid no attention to the sound of metal clashing or the screams of the dying bandits. He knew Sakura would be fine, why should he bother killing dirty old men when it was a perfect night to read?  
  
"Flaming cyclone no jitsu!" Sakura screamed as she performed the seals. A blast of fire encircled her and grew in size, burning the entire camp. She watched at the men fell to the ground, completely charred.  
  
"Hey Kakashi, one's missing!" Sakura yelled up to him.  
  
"Just keep looking," he called down in his sing song voice. "He's got to be around him somewhere."  
  
"Try behind you, asshole," a voice growled. Kakashi barely had time to react as a kunai was flying towards his head. He stared in horror as the tip of the blade was protruding from his favorite book.  
  
Without hesitation he stood up and preformed seals at lightning fast speed. "Fire spike no jitsu!" The bandit was dead before it hit him. The large kunia shaped fire went through his chest, leaving a large black hole.  
  
"My book!" He yelled angrily, pulling the throwing knife out of its cover. "My precious book!"  
  
"Kakashi, are you okay?" Sakura asked softly.  
  
"No, I'm not! This mission was a total failure!" he fumed angrily. "How could we have let this happen?"  
  
"Kakashi, it's not like we lost a man."  
  
He jumped down to the floor and looked at his poor book once more. "This is so horrible. Who could do such a thing?"  
  
"Kakashi, it's your own damned fault for reading during a mission," Sakura said firmly. He looked at her with the most pathetic expression he could muster. She signed helplessly. "Let's just go home. I'm tired."  
  
"Nope, no can do," he said, shedding his sad expression. "We have to rendevous with another group and escort them back to the Leaf Village."  
  
"What are you talking about? You said all we had to do is get rid of the bandits!" She screamed.  
  
"Sorry, must have forgotten," he said happily and handed her the mission scroll. "We have to meet up with the group at their camp and stay there for the night then take them home in the morning."  
  
"Can't they take themselves home?" Sakura asked, completely exasperated.  
  
"No can do. Their entrance might be seen as violent, so we're there to calm the people down."  
  
She looked at him oddly. "Who is it?"  
  
"Some nins from the Sand Village," he began to flip through his book, seeing if anything could be salvaged. He shrugged, then threw the book behind him. "Do you think they'd carry a copy?" He asked, waiving his hand indifferently towards the dead bandits.   
  
"You're going to rummage through the bodies of these filthy people?" Sakura asked, dumfounded.  
  
"Well, more like look through their tents," he said casually. "It never hurts to try!" He walked into the tents and went through all of the stuff. Sakura watched as random items were thrown out into the clearing. Suddenly, he poked his head out of the tent. "Hey Sakura, there are seven more tents! Take one and start helping!"  
  
"No, that's okay Kakashi," she mumbled. "Besides, why would I do you any favors after what you did to me."  
  
"What are you talking about?" he asked innocently.  
  
"I hate you Kakashi."  
  
"No you don't!" he said happily. He pointed to the tent next to him. "Take this one. There's got to be something in it!"  
  
"Don't we have the rest of the mission to do?" Sakura asked heatedly.   
  
"It can wait. This is important," he said seriously and dove back into the tent he plundering. "Hey, dirty magazines!" he said happily as he flipped through it. He threw it out of the tent and it landed on Sakura's shoe.  
  
Blood rushed to her face and turned it red with embarrassment and anger. "KAKASHI!"  
  
"What, you're eighteen aren't you? Don't you look at that stuff?" he asked, completely oblivious.   
  
"I'm leaving," she stated. "I can't take you anymore."  
  
"I don't think you want to meet up with the group alone," Kakashi warned. "You might not like being by yourself with them."  
  
"Who is it, Gaara?" she asked sarcastically. The look that Kakashi gave her told her that she was right. "You're kidding me."  
  
"Nope! He was exiled from his village by the Kage, so Tsunade is letting him stay here. He did save some people here, you know."  
  
"He tried to kill me!" She shouted. "They're letting him in? There has to be a reason why he was exiled!"  
  
"Not for us to care about," he answered, walking out of the tent. "Since you really want to meet up with them, let's go." He smiled and started walking off.  
  
"No, wait!" Sakura called out. "Kakashi..."  
  
"Who's afraid of the big bad Gaara?" he said, poking fun at her. "Besides, he won't hurt you. How many times do I have to tell you that I won't let anything happen to you?"  
  
She nodded and followed him towards Gaara's camp. It took about thirty minutes to get there, and the entire time Kakashi was whining about his book.

* * *

Sakura looked back and forth between Gaara, Kakashi, and the fire between them all. Temari was up in a tree, watching out for any intruders.   
  
"Well, I'm beat," Kakashi announced. "I'm going to take a nap."  
  
"You can't do that!" Sakura said angrily. "You haven't done anything today to make you tired."  
  
"The loss of a companion is hard on the heart," he said, standing up. "It takes time to heal. And what better then to spend that time sleeping!" He walked off to one of the pitched tents Gaara's group brought with them.  
  
Temari jumped down to the fire and sat where Kakashi had been. "You guys lost someone getting here?" she asked incredulously. "How pathetic!"  
  
"He's talking about a book," Sakura growled back. "We, or I should say, I was fighting a group of bandits and Kakashi's book got caught in the crossfire."  
  
"That's even more pathetic," Temari mumbled. "What a looser."  
  
"He's definitely odd," Sakura replied. She looked back at Gaara, who was just staring into the flames. She swallowed and turned back to Temari. "So, isn't there another guy? What happened to your brother?"  
  
"He has a family now at the Sand Village. He couldn't leave," she answered. "I decided to come with Gaara because I was tired of that place."  
  
"So, you weren't exiled?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Just Gaara. For no good reason, either. They just decided he was too dangerous for the village people. So I left with him," she said. "It was really nice of Tsunade to let us in."  
  
She plastered on a smile, and looked back at Gaara. He still stared off into the distance, his mind on other things. She shuddered as she though of the time he almost killed her. She could feel the sand creeping around her, the feeling of it crushing her. She suddenly stood up. "I'm tired to," she said as happily as she could, "I'm going to bed now." She scanned the camp, noticing there was only three tents.  
  
_'I don't want him to kill me in my tent...'_  
  
She walked into the tent that Kakashi was snoring in. He had spread out his entire body, looking like a giant spider with silver hair.   
  
"Damn you Kakashi," Sakura muttered as she pushed him to the side to make room for herself. She finally had enough room to lay down, and was asleep within minutes.  
  
Gaara looked up to Temari, "I don't think she likes us."  
  
"Well, you did try to kill her," Temari said as she picked something out of her teeth.  
  
"Yes," he answered, smiling, "I suppose I did, didn't I?"

* * *

"We have a full day of traveling ahead of us, but it shouldn't be hard because there's paths all the way home. This doesn't mean that we should let our guard down. The Fire Country has more then its share of bandits," Kakashi rubbed his chin as he thought out loud. "I'll lead, and Temari can follow me. Then Gaara and at the back can be Sakura."  
  
"I don't think I trust Pinky to cover my back," Temari mumbled.  
  
Sakura was about to interject, but Kakashi beat her to the punch. "Sakura is more then capable of bringing up the rear. Besides, we don't trust you to cover our backs either."  
  
Temari snarled, "How da-"  
  
"Temari," Gaara snapped. "Give it a rest." She glared back at Kakashi, then looked away in defeat.  
  
"Alright, let's get going," Kakashi said as he stood up. "Let's try to cover as much ground as possible right now, then we can take a break and move at a slower pace."  
  
Without another word he jumped into the nearest tree with Temari quickly following him. Gaara lingered on the ground, looking at Sakura. She swallowed and tried not to look away. He smirked momentarily, then jumped away. Sakura wrinkled her nose up, not particularly happy to be behind him, but followed him just the same.  
  
Kakashi stopped so suddenly that Temari almost collided with him.  
  
"Hey! What gives-"  
  
Kakashi held his hands up for silence. Gaara landed on the large branch next to Temari and Sakura was just a little behind.  
  
'What's he doing?' Gaara wondered. He scanned around the area, trying to figure out what the Copy Ninja was sensing. His eyes widened when he found it. "It's a-"  
  
"Demon," Kakashi finished it for him. "We must move quickly!"  
  
No one needed any further convincing. They were traveling as fast as their bodies could carry them. He was trying not to think about it, he just needed to get his team out of there. Going fast, that was the important thing. Ignore the chakra, ignore its presence. He tried as hard as he could to ignore it. However, he could not ignore the fact that it was getting closer to them.   
  
He quickly glanced over his shoulder to look at the three following him silently. Temari looked around as she jumped, obviously worried. Gaara had the same emotionless mask on but met Kakashi's eyes. Sakura worried him. She looked worn out, and it was obvious that she had not gotten a great night of sleep.   
  
A black shadow was tailing her.  
  
'Shit!' He suddenly stopped and flipped so he was facing his team. "Keep going!" He instructed them. He jumped as fast as he could to his pink haired pupil. He grabbed her by the waist as he jumped out of the path of the shadow. Covering Sakura's mouth, he perched in a tree that overlooked the clearing the shadow was walking around in. He squinted at it, to make it out better. It had a form. 'It's a strong one,' he muttered as he watched the black tiger growling. It rose its head and met Kakashi's gaze.  
  
"Damn!" Kakashi grabbed Sakura once more and started to jump through the trees. It was painfully obvious that they would not emerge from this unscathed.   
  
For the second day in a row, Kakashi was caught off guard. He was able to see the Demon Tiger out of the corner of his eye just as it hit him. He was slammed into the trunk of a great tree. Sakura fell out of his grip and hit the ground hard. She groaned as she picked herself up. The tiger looked at Kakashi, and he could have sworn that it was grinning at him. It nimbly jumped off the tree and in front of the petit Jounin. It started growling and baring its teeth threateningly.  
  
"Sakura!" Kakashi shouted, "Run!"  
  
But it was too late. The tiger lunged at her and sunk its teeth into her shoulder. She cried out in pain, but was otherwise paralyzed in fear. Tears started streaming down her face as she continued to sob.   
  
Kakashi jumped down in front of Sakura and the Tiger Demon. He held his fist down and clutched it with his other hand. Blue chakra gathered in his palm and began to spin wildly. The shadow tiger let go of Sakura and growled at him. It jumped out into the underbrush of the forest. Kakashi surpassed the urge to go after it and kill it. He ran over to Sakura, who was still crying.  
  
"It hurts..." she reached her hand up and gently touched the area where it had sunk its teeth into her flesh. Kakashi moved her hand aside so he could look at it. His eyebrows furrowed as he frowned.  
  
A black seal had appeared on the back of her neck.  
  
"Kakashi..." she slumped over. 


	2. Tiger, Tiger

I know where I'm going with this, and it's the greatest thing ever. Reviews are apreciated. Thanks everyone who's reviewed this far! It's meant a lot to me!

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Two** - _Tiger, Tiger_  
  
"Kakashi, you realize it's not your fault," Tsunade said slowly. He was gazing intently at the seal that was on her neck, and the ring of symbols that Tsunade had put around it to keep it under control.   
  
He chose to ignore her sympathy. "What was it?" he asked.   
  
"She was bitten by a shadow devil," Tsunade said in a matter-of-fact tone. "If they bite something and don't kill it, they leave their mark on it. It's like they're planting a seed in the victim. If the victim is weak," she looked back down to Sakura, "then the seal will take over them. Slowly, the victim-"  
  
"It's just not a victim," he said coldly. "Just say it."  
  
"If Sakura can't overpower the seal, then the shadow devil that's implanted into that seal will take over her mind and warp her."  
  
Kakashi closed his eyes. Sakura was not Sasuke, she wasn't some prodigy that could easily take this. She was small and frail, she was delicate. He was truly worried for her.  
  
"When Sakura wakes up, we'll work out a schedule of rigorous training. That's all that we can do for her," Tsunade said.  
  
"I'll do it," Kakashi stated.  
  
Tsunade shook her head, "I'm sorry, Kakashi, but I need you for other things."  
  
He waved his hand. "It can wait."  
  
"Kakashi," Tsunade said sharply, "I understand that you're worried about your student, but you are a shinobi! You will do as I say. I will assign Gaara and Temari to her, and perhaps some others."  
  
"I said I wouldn't let anything happen to her," he said after a moment of silence.   
  
"There are things out there that even you can't protect people from," Tsunade said, choosing her words carefully. "Don't beat yourself up over it." She squeezed his shoulder lightly then walked out of the room.

* * *

Temari stood up when Tsunade entered the room, but Gaara just stared ahead as if she never came it. Tsunade just cleared her throat as she took a seat at her desk. She laced her fingers together and crossed her legs.  
  
"I have an assignment for you two."  
  
Temari's eyebrow arched in suspicion. "You're letting us be Leaf shinobi?"  
  
Tsunade smiled. "Not yet. Think of this as trail period."  
  
"What will you have us do?"  
  
"The girl that was escorting you, Sakura, has fallen ill. The only way that she can hope to lead a normal life is to become stronger. I need you two to train her."  
  
Temari snorted. "You're kidding, right?"  
  
"I'm afraid not. And since there has been some... problems lately, you two must do it. I need all of my shinobi for other things."  
  
"We will do it," Gaara said, cutting off whatever sarcastic comment that was about to spill from Temari's mouth.  
  
"Great. You will, of course, be paid. I have also assigned you two to an apartment complex near the training grounds," she handed Gaara an envelope. "You two are dismissed."

* * *

"Mom?" Sakura opened her eyes, but quickly regretted it. The overhead lights were murder for her headache.  
  
"Sakura?" A male voice whispered.  
  
"Kakashi? Where am I? Why are you here?" she asked. She tried to sit up, but her back begged to differ. She groaned and fell back to the bed. "Kakashi?" she waited for him to answer.  
  
It took him a long time to talk. His mind was a mess, he couldn't pick out coherent fragments to put together. "I'm sorry, Sakura."  
  
She looked at him oddly, "For what?" Suddenly, a searing pain stabbed through her neck and into her spine. She cried out then clenched her jaw shut. Tears welded up in the corners of her eyes as she desperately hoped for the pain to subside. "Kakashi!"  
  
He winced as he heard the pain in her voice. It wasn't fair for her. If he was only stronger...  
  
She sighed as the pain retreated. She was rubbing the back of her neck as she bit back the rest of the tears threatening to fall. "Is this from that demon?"  
  
He nodded . He clasped his hands together and propped his arms on his legs. He rested his head on his hands while watching her.  
  
"So, what's wrong with me?" She asked him. "What's going to happen to me?"  
  
"If you don't become stronger," he said, "you will lose control of your body and turn into the shadow demon."  
  
Her mouth opened slightly, but she didn't say anything. She just stared at him, not sure of what to say. "I'm going to die."  
  
"No, you won't Sakura. I won't let you die-"  
  
"Oh my God," she covered her face with her hands, then ran them up through her hair. She grabbed her pink locks, ready to pull them out in panic. "I'm going to die! How can I possibly overpower a demon seal?" She looked back up at Kakashi, tears freely flowing. "I'm not Naruto! I'm not Sasuke! I can't do this!"  
  
"Sakura, you can't give up," he said calmly. "You'll be able to get over this."   
  
He wasn't even sure if he believed what he just said. If Sakura was already giving herself up to death, there was no hope.   
  
"You just have to believe in yourse-"  
  
"Don't tell me that!" she screamed. "You don't even believe that I can do it!"   
  
"Sakura," Kakashi placed his hands on her shoulders and squeezed firmly, "you are a _jounin_! You are part of the elite shinobi of the Leaf! Don't tell me that you can't overcome this!" He was trying to convince himself just as much as he was trying to convince her.   
  
Sakura stared at him, the tears subsiding. Her heavy breathing calmed by her will. "What am I going to do?"  
  
Kakashi returned his arms to their formal position as he spoke. "You will undergo rigorous training everyday til you are strong enough to handle this thing. You won't be going on any missions til then." Sakura gripped the hospital bed sheets as she nodded.   
  
She smiled, though fake. "It's just a little training, right? Training is never a bad thing." Every word she spoke was forced right through her teeth, and Kakashi recognized it. "I could use it too, being stronger." She tried smiling one more time, then looked back down to her bed.   
  
Kakashi just nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

* * *

Sakura returned home the next day. Tsunade had given her a scroll of duties she was supposed to complete as she became stronger. Of course, it really only said for her to train, but it gave her specific times and workouts on a day to day basis. She was supposed to return to the hospital every other weekend to check up on her progress.  
  
She unrolled the scroll, scanning it briefly. She gasped, realizing who her trainers would be. "Gaara and Temari? Why did it have to be them?" She looked over the scroll again, looking for anyone but them. "I see. Kakashi, Gai, Sasuke... But they aren't in here nearly enough. Two full months before they're training me. Even then, they're too few and far between the sand devils." She sighed and rolled the scroll up again.  
  
"Sakura."  
  
She looked up, smiling at her mother. "Yes, Mom?"  
  
"If you... you know... need anything, we'll always be here for you," she said kindly.  
  
Sakura nodded happily. "I know, thank you mom!" Sakura embraced her before smiling some more.  
  
"Don't worry about chores while you're training," she said. "I'll take care of them for you. You just need to concentrate on getting better."  
  
"You don't have to do that."  
  
"I know, I know. But you're going to be worn out, and the last thing that should be on your mind is washing the dishes."  
  
"Thank you, Mom."  
  
She gazed back to the dresser that she had set the scroll down on. The picture of Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke and her caught her eye. She held it up, smiling.   
  
"I think I need some cheering up."

* * *

The knocking on Naruto's door caught him off guard. The vase that he was balancing on his head fell off with a crash. "One minute!" Naruto yelled as he picked up the pieces of the vase and threw them away. "Hello?" He opened the door. Immediately, he grinned as wide as he could. "Sakura-chan!"  
  
"Hello, Naruto-kun," she said quietly, "May I come it?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah!" He opened the door wide enough for her to enter, "So, how's it going Sakura-chan?"  
  
"I'm fine, Naruto-kun. And you?" She said, smiling to the best of her abilities at that moment.  
  
"Great, great, great! I've been nominated for ANBU, I was thinking of joining!" He proclaimed. "I was training just then! I'm going to be strong!"   
  
"Joining ANBU, eh? When is the test?"   
  
"Mmmmmm in about four or five months," he said in a matter of fact tone. "Sasuke was nominated too! If he makes it, I definitely have to make it!"  
  
"Great." Sakura smiled.  
  
"Neh, Sakura," Naruto suddenly looked seriously at her, "Is something the matter? You never come by my flat."  
  
"Ah, it's nothing. I was just a little bored, and I haven't seen you for a while since you became a jounin before me," Sakura said happily. "I just wanted to have some fun."  
  
"Well, you've come to the right place! I, Uzumaki Naruto, will make you happy!" He proclaimed.  
  
"And you can't go back on it, because it's your ninja way," Sakura said, giggling softly.  
  
"Yeah, that's right!" he said, adjusting his forehead protector.

* * *

"Here!" Naruto handed Sakura a vanilla ice-cream cone as he plopped down on the bench next to her. He grinned in his usually childish way, then turned all of his attention to his treat.  
  
"Naruto-kun, I was wondering," Sakura was staring intently at her ice cream, "how... how do you live with the nine tails still in you?"  
  
"Hmm, well, I haven't really thought about it. It's just in me, that's all," he stated as he licked his cone.  
  
"It doesn't interfere with your life at all?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Nope! Sometimes when I get angry it gives me some of its chakra, but that's about it."  
  
"I see," she said, watching the ice cream melt. It streamed off onto her hand. She didn't even bother to lick it off. "Thank you, Naruto-kun. I think I'll be going now."  
  
"Wait, Sakura," he stood up to stop her, "I think you can do it."  
  
She looked at him oddly, "What are you talking about?"  
  
He grinned and pointed at her. "Don't play dumb! You can do it, Sakura-chan!"  
  
She smiled in return. 


	3. Karma

**Sigh** My parents are fighting out in the living room. So here I am, writing my next chapter with My Chemical Romance, Yellowcard, Three Days Grace, Lost Profits, and Coheed and Cambria blasting from my laptop. I hate it when they fight. I mean, they could at least have the common sense to fight in their room. Goddamn it. Yeah, like you care about my life =P  
  
Oh yeah, I forgot. I don't own Naruto or the characters.

* * *

"Eight O'clock," Sakura said to herself as she entered into the training area. "With Temari..."  
  
"Temari-_san_," She corrected. She jumped down from the large wooden post she had been perched on.   
  
"I'm sorry," Sakura said as pleasantly as she could, though she wish she could have spat it. Earlier she decided that she was going to make things as... comfortable as possible. She was, after all, spending the next two months with the ex-sand nins. "What's on the list for today?"  
  
Temari yawned and stared down at her newly coated nails. "Look, Pinky, I don't really feel like being here this early. I'll tell you what, I'm going to give you just a work out assignment and leave you at that," she said. She Put a finger on her chin as she thought out loud, "How about one thousand pushups and sit ups for upper body strength and then lets say... five hundred laps around training ground trails."  
  
Sakura glared at her, "But that's a one mile obstacle course!"  
  
"Oh, it is? Alright, I'll tell you what. When you're finished with the push ups and sit ups, run through it til nightfall then you can go home," she said casually. "After that, you can go home."  
  
"Do you have any idea how hard that trail is?" Sakura practically shrieked.  
  
"Nope! Have fun now!" Temari said as she disappeared off to who knows where.  
  
Sakura continued to glared at the spot her 'trainer' formally occupied. She threw up her hands, sighing in frustration. She walked over to a spot and begun her least favorite thing: push ups.

* * *

Rock Lee was on his ninety-eighth lap around the training grounds. He smiled to himself; he was only getting started.  
  
"Nine hundred ninety-two, nine hundred ninety-," there was a grunt of discomfort, then the pink haired shinobi fell to the ground. "God, I hate this."  
  
"Sakura-chan!" Lee said happily as he bounded over to her. "Training this early too?"  
  
"Unfortunately," Sakura muttered as she sat back up. "How long have you been at it?"  
  
"About three hours," he said casually as he started to stretch his back out. "Gai-sensei said I should do it."  
  
"Oh... After this, I'm going to the obstacle course," Sakura said. "You wanna come?"  
  
"Sorry, Sakura-chan, but I promised to spar Naruto," he said. "I saw Sasuke a little while ago, you can ask him," Lee offered.   
  
"Sasuke..?" she thought for a moment, "No, thanks, I suppose I could do it by myself."  
  
"Well, talk to you later Sakura." Lee waved as he left, flashing her a smile.  
  
Sakura fell back down again, finishing off the rest of her sit ups.  
  
"I don't want Sasuke to know..." Sakura said to herself, "I don't want his help."

* * *

Th next day, Sakura almost considered not showing up for practice. It would be her first time being alone with Gaara, and it freaked her out. She fidgeted with her hair as she waited for him to arrive.   
  
"Okay, just have to stay calm, he's not going to bite me," Sakura told herself.   
  
"How can you be so sure?"  
  
Sakura's eyes grew wide with fear as she slowly turned around, "Oh... Gaara-san... hi..."   
  
"Hello," he answered. His black eyes stared intensely at her. Inner Sakura could only guess that he was undressing her with his mind.  
  
"Erm, well, training..."  
  
"Yes, training. I want you to hit me," he stated.  
  
"Hit you?"  
  
"Yes. Once you can actually lay a blow on me, then we can start sparring." Sakura shrugged then got in a fighting stance. Gaara didn't move an inch, just crossed his arms and looked at her. "You may start."  
  
Sakura nodded, then disappeared. Gaara sighed, it was going to be a long, boring day. The sand started flowing from its gourd, and automatically blocked the kick she intended to connect with the back of his head. It also blocked the round house to his legs, and the punch to his kidney.   
  
Sakura growled in frustration. Rock Lee had trouble putting a scratch on Gaara, and he had inhuman speed. How was she going to do it?

* * *

Kakashi watched as Sakura walked away from the training grounds exhausted, discouraged, and covered in sand. She was looking down at her feet as she walked bast him on the street. He smiled briefly.   
  
"Sakura," he spoke.  
  
She jumped in surprise, then turned back to him. "Ah, Kakashi, hi."  
  
"How's training?" He asked.  
  
"I wouldn't call it training," she said. "Temari just left as soon as she got there, and Gaara just stands there while I try to hit him."  
  
"Are you going home for the night?" He asked. Kakashi leaned against the wall behind him and crossed his arms.  
  
"I think so," she said as she started to comb her hair with her hands, getting as much sand out as possible. "I'm exhausted. Why?"  
  
"I found some reading on your... condition. It has some mental exercises that are suppose to help you stay in control in case of emergencies." He watched her for a moment. She looked completely worn out. "Do you have training tomorrow?"  
  
"No, I don't. We could do it tomorrow, if you don't mind?" She asked. Mental things she could do easily. "I would like to learn as much as I could."  
  
"Okay. I'll meet you tomorrow at the-"  
  
Sakura held her hand up, stopping him. "No. You will come pick me up at my house. I'm not going to wait at some random location for two hours for you to show up."  
  
Kakashi smiled under his mask. "Alright. I'll be there at noon. See you!" And with that, he disappeared.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Sakura, but I found this kitten who's mother-"  
  
"_LIAR_!" Sakura shouter, pointing a finger at him.   
  
Kakashi's eyes crinkled with laughter. He shrugged and started walking away from Sakura's house. "Come on, I have to make a stop."  
  
"Just a second!" Sakura called as she put her shoes on as fast as she could. "Kakashi!" She ran over to him, pulling on his arm as she put her left shoe on. "Where are we going?"  
  
"The market," he answered. "I need some stuff for my house."  
  
"We're going to your house?" Sakura asked him.   
  
"Yeah, it's quiet enough there so we can do some meditation," he said. He stopped in front of a building. "I'm going in here. I'll be right back."  
  
Sakura watched him go into the grocery story, then looked around for something to do while her sensei shopped. Then she noticed a book store. She smiled as she dug around her purse. "Ah, might as well." She ran off into the bookstore. When the clerk rung her up, he gave her a very suspicious look.   
  
She walked back out to where Kakashi left her. He was leaning against the store, holding a small paper bag in his left hand. He noticed a bag that Sakura was carrying. She put it into his purse, and he didn't ask questions.   
  
"It's this way," he said, pulling the keys out of his pants pocket with his free hand. Within five minutes they had reached his apartment door. He opened it easily, then pushed the door open and flipped on the lights. "Make yourself comfortable, I have to feed Omi."  
  
"Omi?" Sakura asked. "Who's that?"  
  
"The kitten I found on the way to your house," he stated simply. He took out a bowl from his cabinets over the sink and set it down on the floor. He reached for the brown bag and pulled out a carton of milk he bought from the grocery store.   
  
Within seconds, a little grey kitten emerged from its hiding place under his couch. It mewed wildly as it ran over to the bow. It stared at Kakashi with its big green eyes as its little pink tongue lapped up the creamy milk as fast as it could.   
  
"So, you weren't lying," Sakura said.   
  
Kakashi nodded in return, watching the kitten. "Ah, well, we should get started. There's a book on the table about the shadow demons. Why don't you look through that for a bit."  
  
"Okay," she said softly as she turned to his living room. Suddenly she stopped, remembering her gift. "Oh, I bought you something." She pulled out the bag and handed it to the silver haired jounin.  
  
Curious, he opened up the bag and pulled out a red covered book. His face lit up immediately and he started flipping through the pages of Come Come Paradise. "Thanks!" He looked down to little Omi, who was practically shoving his face in the milk. "It must be karma or something."  
  
Sakura smiled, then walked over to the book about the Shadow Devils. She flipped through it, reading at an alarming rate. Kakashi poured himself a cup of milk and leaned against the kitchen counter. He watched her as shock played out on her facial features. She looked up from the book, but not at Kakashi.  
  
"So, there's really something else inside of me," Sakura stated slowly. "It's not like it will change me and I'll become this... thing, but... It was born inside me the second I was bit."  
  
Kakashi flinched inwardly. He didn't want to think of that day. He could feel the guild rising in his mind. He closed his eyes and turned his face away. "It's growing every day to catch up with you. That's why you need to training so much."  
  
"Kakashi, it says that it's going to attack my mind," Sakura stated. "Why do I have to physically train so much? It's not like I can attack it or anything."  
  
Kakashi looked up lazily as he spoke, "You need to be in top condition. If your body is weak, then it can take control of your body. If you have horrible upper body strength, then it could take control over your arms."  
  
Sakura cringed. "Has anyone ever survived something like this?"   
  
Kakashi picked his words carefully, "I've never heard of anyone even waking up after they've been bitten." The blood drained from Sakura's face. Kakashi walked over to the table and took a seat across from her. "The fact that you woke up a few days ago means that you've already got a chance."  
  
"That's all I've got?" Sakura whispered, "A chance?"  
  
Kakashi looked serious. "Unless if you get stronger, yes."  
  
"Do you think I can do it?"  
  
He grinned. "Yeah. Otherwise, I wouldn't help you."  
  
Sakura's grim expression immediately turned into one of anger. "So you would have just_ left_ me to rot if I wasn't up to snuff?"  
  
"Yeah, that's about right," he said thoughtfully. "Well, good thing you_ are_ up to snuff."  
  
Sakura glared icily at him. "You're so sweet," she said sarcastically.  
  
"I know! Alright. Time for some meditation."

* * *

Sakura opened her right eye slightly, peaking at Kakashi. He was sitting on the floor across from her, but was leaning against his wall. She couldn't tell if he was sleeping or not.   
  
"Sakura, in order to do this exercise correctly, you have to keep both eyes closed," Kakashi said from beneath his mask, not even opening one of his eyes.  
  
"Sorry!" Sakura muttered as she clenched both of her eyes together. She was about to reflect on what Kakashi had instructed her earlier, but he spoke up again.  
  
"Remember that you're supposed to focus on your whole being, your entity. This way, you'll be able to recognize what's really you and what's the demon."  
  
"You read my-"  
  
"I know," he said simply.  
  
Sakura sighed then straitened her back as she tried to sit more comfortably. Unlike Kakashi, she had nothing to lean against. She took a deep breath, then readied herself for her exercise. First, she used her mind to identify different parts of her body and chakra flow. After that, she explored everything in her head: her brain, her thoughts, and the two gates. And that's when she felt it.  
  
Kakashi's eye opened as Sakura started to take ragged breaths. "Sakura?" She didn't even here him. "Sakura," he said, more firmly. He leaned over to her and placed on of his hands on her shoulder and shook her lightly. "Hey, wake up."  
  
Sakura's eyes snapped open. Her mouth was agape, but nothing came out. She started to take fast deep breaths as her body started shaking. She looked around wildly, but then she stared strait at Kakashi. "I found it," she breathed out. "I found it..."  
  
Kakashi's brows furrowed, his hand still placed on her shoulder. "Sakura, this exercise wasn't for you to locate-"  
  
"I_ know_ Kakashi," she said, "I wasn't trying to. It was just... I my mind... it was there..."  
  
Kakashi stood up and walked over to his cabinets and pulled out a bottle. He threw the medicine at her over his shoulder, then pulled out a cup and filled it with water. When he walked back into the living room, he stopped suddenly. "Sakura?"  
  
The bottle of medicine was lying on the floor, its contents spread in front of Sakura. She was staring, completely frightened, at Omi. Kakashi walked over and scooped up his little grey kitten and put it in his room, shutting the door.  
  
_The shadow demon was a cat,_ Kakashi realized. "Sakura, I think we've had enough for one day," he said. He picked up two pills from the floor and gave it to her along with the water. Sakura took it obediently then handed him the cup back.   
  
Sakura stood up, nodding. "I'm sorry, Kakashi, I don't know what got into me."  
  
"It's alright," Kakashi said, placing a hand on her head affectionately. "Go home and get some sleep. We'll do this tomorrow again."  
  
"I'm training tomorrow with Temari," Sakura stated.  
  
"Not anymore," Kakashi said. "I'll tell her later. Anyway, good night."  
  
"Night," Sakura said as she stepped out of his apartment and made her way home.   
  
Kakashi turned back to the mess on his living room floor and began to clean it up. As he brushed all the pills together, he noticed that there was something wet on the carpet. He touched it lightly, then brought his fingers closer for inspection.  
  
"Blood?" 


	4. Can't Sleep

**A/N** : The first part has absolutely nothing to do with anything. I just wanted to put it there because the idea of Kakashi with a kitten is cute.

* * *

"Omi, if you don't shut up I'm going to toss you off the balcony," Kakashi said lazily as he flipped through his brand new 'Come Come Paradise' volume. Omi sat upright on Kakashi's stomach and held his paw out while mewing. It was wearing on Kakashi's nerves. "I'm going to summon one of my dogs," he threatened the little bundle of fur. Omi cocked its little head to the side, watching Kakashi intently. Finally, it gave up and curled into a ball and was asleep within minutes.

* * *

"You realize you haven't hit me yet," Gaara stated.  
  
"Shut up," Sakura shouted through her heavy panting.   
  
Gaara glared at her, "I think we're done for the day."  
  
"It's only noon!" Sakura protested.   
  
"And you're exhausted. We cannot continue," he stated. He continued to glare at her for a moment more, then turned around. "You are too weak. It was a mistake for Tsunade to assign me to you. You'll only get despaired and lose hope by trying to keep up with me." He crossed his arms and started to walk away.  
  
"Wait! Gaara!" Sakura held her hand out an took one step forward. She brought her other hand up to her heart and looked down at her feet. "Please... Don't give up at me. I need this... I need you..."  
  
Gaara stopped and turned his head to the side, studying Sakura intensely. A moment passed and neither of them budged. Finally, Gaara turned his head back. "Are you hungry?"  
  
"Eh?" Sakura faltered and almost fell over. "What?"  
  
"Are you hungry?" he asked again. "Food?"  
  
"Ah...yeah, sort of," she said as she gave him a quizzical look.   
  
"I need to go to the market," he said.   
  
"Oh..." Sakura looked at the back of his head. After a moment, Gaara closed his eyes and started walking again. "Hey...! Wait!" She ran up and stopped in front of him. "You're going to stop training me because you need to go grocery shopping?"   
  
He nodded.   
  
"You're kidding me."  
  
He shook his head.  
  
"Do you need help?"  
  
He glared at her.  
  
"Well, I doubt that you've ever had to buy anything for yourself," Sakura said in a matter-of-fact tone.  
  
"Anything I want was usually just given to me."  
  
"I see..." Sakura said slowly. "So you're asking me for help."  
  
"I never-"  
  
"It's fine," Sakura said, smiling. "The market is this way."

* * *

An enormous energy made the hairs on the back of his neck prick up. Sasuke couldn't shake that it was some how /familiar/. As hard as he tried, he couldn't put his finger on it. Glaring at the horizon, he jumped off the building he was on and started following the source of this huge power.  
  
It shocked him that the trail led him strait to the quaint little grocery store. How....odd. Sasuke shoved his hands in his pocket and looked around wordlessly. Nothing seemed out of place. He simply shrugged and walked into the grocery store. A familiar voice caught his attention right away.  
  
"...and you should usually get some fruit to go with the meal. Apples are good, so are pears and...."  
  
_Holy shit._  
  
Gaara turned slightly and met Sasuke's gaze. They held it, neither of them daring to back down from the silent challenge.  
  
"Oh, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said happily.   
  
Sasuke broke eye contact and looked down at his former team mate. "Hi."  
  
"I was helping Gaara-san shop," she explained. "He just moved and-"  
  
"You're staying here?" Sasuke asked Gaara.  
  
He nodded slowly.   
  
Sasuke shrugged. It looks like he found a new sparring partner.

* * *

It was awkward to say the least. Sakura ate slowly, concentrating on the food in front of her while trying to ignore the other's glares. She didn't know about Temari, but it was almost natural for Gaara. Sakura was used to that. Temari, on the other hand, just seemed to have an all around loathing for her.   
  
"This is good," Sakura commented before she bit into another piece of her sushi.  
  
More glares. Temari rolled her eyes while Gaara continued to chew on his food.   
  
Sakura swallowed her food and pushed her plat in front of her. "Well, I'm done. I should get going. See you later." She stood up, bowed, and left the house.  
  
Temari snorted and took another bite. "Why do you keep her around? It's bad enough we're forced to see her every morning."  
  
"Because," he said, a hint of thoughtfulness in his voice, "She said she needs me."

* * *

"One moment!" Sakura heard from inside the apartment. There was a loud clash followed by angry cursing. Finally, after a few moments, the front door opened. Kakashi leaned against the doorframe, Omi sitting quiet comfortably atop Kakashi's head.  
  
"Um, hi," Sakura said awkwardly. She looked up at Omi, who now had a silver nest for bedding, then back down to Kakashi. He gave her a look that he didn't understand what was so odd.   
  
"What can I do for you?" He asked as he crossed his arms. In one hand he held the dirty novel that Sakura had bought him.  
  
"I was wondering if I could borrow your book," Sakura asked.  
  
"Eh?" His uncovered eye gazed down at the book in his hand. He shrugged then held it out to her.   
  
Sakura blinked a few times before freaking out. "I meant the OTHER book!"  
  
Sakura watched as realization for what she wanted hit him. "Ooh, you're right. This isn't the first book of the series. I'll go get it."  
  
Sakura didn't have time to argue before the silver haired jounin disappeared back into his apartment. He emerged seconds later with a large blue bound book. He handed it to her, a goofy smile playing on his lips under the mask. "The information on the Shadow Demons starts around chapter twelve, pictures and all."  
  
"Thank you," Sakura said as she ran one over her hands over the leader binding. "I'll read it tonight."

* * *

"What's that?" Sakura asked as Gaara pulled out two objects from a rather old box.  
  
"Weights," he said simply, handing one to her. "For your legs."  
  
"Where'd you get these?" Sakura almost fell over when he dropped one into her arms. "How much does this weigh!?"  
  
"Two hundred," he answered, giving her the other weight. "We're going to run through the trails today."  
  
"You're serious?" she asked.  
  
"Why would I not be?" he asked. "Ready?"  
  
She strapped on the second set of weights and nodded her head. Gaara launched off, heading towards to trails around the training area. Sakura jumped off, expecting to easily follow him. However, she didn't make up for the extra weight added to her legs and quickly fell back to the ground. She winced as she stood up again, watching Gaara speed to the trails.   
  
"Hey! Wait up!" Sakura called as she started running after him. Once again, she wasn't expecting to carry any extra weight other then her own. She stumbled a bit, then set into a nice jogging pace.  
  
Gaara had waited at the entrance to the trails, leaning against a tree with his arms crossed. "Try and keep up." With that, he lunged into a tree and sped off. Sakura, however, could only manage a jog. As time went on, even that was too hard for her and she had to walk.

* * *

Sakura squinted as she read over the small print. It was her second time that night. She was determined to know ever single aspect of the thing that steadily grew in her mind. She didn't want to admit it, but she began to feel its presents inside of her more and more. Headaches became frequent, and she even blacked out a few times when she trained with Kakashi. There was a darkness within her; she could no longer think of this as a bad dream.   
  
There was a light rap on Sakura's door. "Sakura? You have company, honey."  
  
"Let them in," Sakura called, not tearing her eyes from her reading.  
  
The door opened and shut; the guest stood awkwardly before her. She finally looked up. Her pink eyebrows knit together in surprise. "Gaara?"  
  
He nodded to her, looking around her room for some distraction.  
  
"Oh! Sit down! Here," she pushed some pillows off her bed as she sat on it. She indicated to the chair she was originally sitting in for him to take. He nodded again and sat down, still feeling uncomfortable.  
  
"So, what can I do for you?"  
  
"Do you sleep?" He asked quickly.  
  
"What?" Sakura gave him an odd look.  
  
"Do you sleep?" he repeated.  
  
"Of course I do," she answered. "Don't you?"  
  
He shook his head.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"If I sleep, /he'll/ take over me," he stated. "The sand demon. Will the shadow demon do that?"  
  
"I haven't read anything about it," she said. "I'm not sure."  
  
Gaara cocked his head to the side, studying her. He just stared at her for a few moments. He didn't mean to, but it was unnerving Sakura. He stared at her for a long time.

* * *

Sakura tossed and turned in her bed. What Gaara had said to her really got her thinking. What if she did lose control in her sleep? What if she were to wake up and something horrible would have happened? She bit her lip in worry.   
  
She stood up and walked over to her desk, picking up the book. She flipped through it again, searching if it said anything specific about her condition and sleeping. As she scanned through the pages, only one line stood out.  
  
_These demons will attack their host at any moment of weakness_.  
  
Meanwhile, a familiar ex sand shinobi was sitting in a tree, leaning comfortably against the trunk.  
  
"Don't worry. I'll watch you sleep."  
  
**A/N**: This chapter is short, sorry. Couldn't think of anything else! 


	5. Enter the Demon

A/N: I really enjoy writing this fic =) I just want to get a big shout out to everyone that's reviewed. It's meant so much to me! Thank you!  
  
Five chapters! Wow! You guys must be getting sick of me. 

* * *

"Kakashi!" Sakura screamed as she pounded on his door again. "Kakashi!"  
  
"Yeah, yeah," he herd her shout from the opposite side of the door. He opened his door slowly, sticking his head out. "Sakura?"  
  
Veins started becoming visible on her forehead as she clenched her fists in anger. "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO TRAIN ME TODAY!" She screamed, nearly knocking Kakashi over.   
  
He rubbed his head for a moment, "Was I?" The sleepiness was evident on his face, but he tried to hide it as best as possible.  
  
She glared daggers at him. "What, no lame excuse?"  
  
"Aaaaahhhh," he looked around, trying to think of something off the top of his head, "Well, last night-"  
  
"LIAR!" Sakura kicked the door in, knocking Kakashi to the side. She prowled into the livingroom, setting herself down on the carpeted floor. "Sit down," she said slowly and dangerously, her voice full of malice.  
  
"If you say so," Kakashi said, shrugging as he walked over to her and sitting across from her.  
  
Suddenly all the blood drained from Sakura's face. Just as quickly, it flooded back up, causing an enormous blush to play across her face. Kakashi was sitting cross legged across from her in nothing but boxers and his mask. "K...k...k...KAKASHI!"  
  
"You told me to sit down," he said lazily.   
  
"GO GET SOME CLOTHES ON!"  
  
"Yes, your highness," he said as he picked himself up and walked into his room.  
  
Sakura started bashing herself with her hands to destroy any mental pictures that had begun to develop. _Get a hold of yourself, Sakura_, she chided herself. _Close your eyes, breath deeply. In, out, in out._  
  
She decided that being deep into her meditation would be the best way for Kakashi to find her. No need to be even more awkward.   
  
_Reach out with your mind to touch everything.._.  
  
Meanwhile, Kakashi rummaged through his dresser to find a decent shirt. He sighed as he went through the empty drawers. He hadn't done laundry in weeks.  
  
His head snapped up when he heard something shatter in his living room. His silver brows knit together. "Sakura?" he called. No answer. He walked out of his room cautiously, looking from side to side for her.  
  
He barely had time to react as a kunai was being brought down on his face. He reached up and grabbed the hand that was gripping the kunai, narrowing his eyes. "What's wrong with you, Sakura?" Of course, he already knew the answer.  
  
Sakura wrenched her hand out of Kakashi's grip and jumped back a few feet. Baring her teeth with an evil grin, she held the kunai in front of her. She was breathing loudly and had a wild look in her eyes.  
  
Kakashi smirked under his mask. "So, this is it? You're the big bad shadow demon?"  
  
Sakura snarled in return. Black marks began to stretch their way over her flesh, leaving stripes all down her body and face. Her angry eyes began to glow dark purple. "And you're the big bad teacher," she hissed venomously, but not with her own voice. "The one trying to get rid of me."  
  
"I'm only going to say this once," Kakashi said, deathly serious, "You have five seconds to go back to wherever you came from."  
  
"You seem to think that you're in charge," she hissed. Smiling, she turned the kunai towards herself. Her grin seemed to get bigger as she lifted it up to the bottom of her neck. "I wouldn't try anything now. You wouldn't want your precious student dead."  
  
Kakashi glared at Sakura. The demon had seemed to take full control of her body. _How? How is it moving so fast?_  
  
"Stop it!" The demon within Sakura cried out. She lifted her hands to her head and screwed her eyes shut. "STOP IT!" She began to breath heavily as she shook her head back and forth. Her eyes snapped open and she brought the kunai over her head. "So you want to be like that? Fine!" Without hesitation she brought the kunai down on herself. She gritted her teeth together as she shoved the kunai deeper into her thigh.   
  
Kakashi made his move. He slammed her against the wall and pinned her hands over her head. The kunai still protruded from her leg, but the demon didn't seem to mind. It hissed at Kakashi, but that only made him tighten his grip. He lowered his face so that it was close to hers. "Get the hell out of her body."  
  
"If you don't want to see her hurt, you'll stop training her," she hissed. With that, she went limp. The black stripes across her body began to fade. He picked her up and set her down on his couch.  
  
"Sakura?" He lightly shook her, but she didn't stir. He ran over to his kitchen and ran a washcloth under warm water. He walked back over to her and cleaned off the wound on her leg. He then bandaged it up tightly, making sure that it would heal correctly. After washing the blood off his hands, he sat down on the chair angled towards his couch.  
  
A thought crossed his mind. _What if the demon comes back?_  
  
With that, he walked over and picked Sakura up. He sat lengthwise on the couch with his back propped up by the arm. He sat Sakura down on his lap, with her back propped up against his chest. He wrapped his arm around her waist, disabling her from moving, while his other hand grabbed a kunai and held it to her collar.

* * *

Sakura didn't come to gradually, as if falling out of a dream. It was a violent shock, and instant pull from unconsciousness. Her eyes snapped open and she tried to sit up, but was held back. She looked around wildly, not knowing what was going on.  
  
_I'm being held down,_ she thought, paralyzed by fear.  
  
She glanced down. One muscular arm was wrapped around her waist and hands. Something cold was being pressed against her throat. Sakura could feel him breathing steadily against her back. Whoever it was, he must have been asleep. She tried to get a better look, cocking her head to the side. Suddenly, the arm around her waist held her down tighter and the cold thing was pressed under her chin.  
  
"Don't move," a familiar voice commanded.  
  
"K-Kakashi?" she stuttered. Despite his commands, she turned her head to the side to look at him. Her eyes grew wide in shock. His headband was pulled off, the sharingan eye exposed. She cringed at his feral expression.   
  
"Are you okay, Sakura?" His expression softened and he set the kunai down.  
  
"I...I don't know," she answered honestly. Her body began to shake violently, and the pain in her thigh became all to apparent. She cried out, but cut it short by biting on her lip. The tears, however, she could not stop. They flew freely, the agony clear in her eyes.  
  
Kakashi wrapped an arm around her as he positioned himself so that he was normally sitting on the couch with Sakura in his lap. He was about to mover her but she turned and wrapped her arms around his neck, crying into his bare chest.   
  
"Kakashi, it was horrible!" she managed between sobs. "I was alone with it. I was _alone_ and it was _hurting me_!"  
  
Kakashi watched the pink haired girl break down on his lap. Awkwardly, he placed his arms around her and hugged her to him. He could feel her tears trickle down his chest. His eyes screwed shut as he hugged her tighter.  
  
_Why couldn't it have been me?_

* * *

Gaara watched Sakura intensely as she did her calisthenics. He noticed that she had been more into them, wanting to push herself to the brink of exhaustion. "What are you doing?"  
  
Sakura turned her face to the side, still doing push ups. "What does it look like I'm doing?"  
  
"Pushing yourself too hard," he stated plainly.  
  
She turned her head back to the ground. "I have to."  
  
"Hey."  
  
Gaara and Sakura looked towards to voice. Sasuke was leaning against a tree, his arms crossed and looking bored. Gaara nodded towards him, while Sakura looked back down to continue her pushups.  
  
"I want to fight you," he said bluntly. The huge energy had once again drawn him to Gaara.  
  
Gaara just stared at him. He looked back down to Sakura, then back up to Sasuke. He nodded and walked over to him. Sasuke launched off, jumping from tree to tree with Gaara closely behind him.   
  
_The huge energy is leaving..._ Sasuke thought. He looked over his shoulder to make sure Gaara was still following him. Confused, he stopped on the next branch he landed on. He gave a questioning look towards Gaara.  
  
"You thought that was me?" He asked, looking back to the direction where Sakura was training. "It's not."  
  
It suddenly dawned on Sasuke. Sakura had been in the store with Gaara, and Gaara had been with Sakura while she was training. _ She was the huge energy?_  
  
"Since when..."  
  
Gaara smirked. "Ask her."

* * *

Sooo I have a question. Who do you enjoy reading Sakura with? Kakashi or Gaara?


	6. Sting

A/N - Oh my god, peoples, I'm so sorry. It took like 13245432222 years for this one to come out. Are you mad at me? Yeah... I deserve it. I have no explanation or good excuse... I just fell out of writing for a while.

Music: Sic Transit Gloria... Glory Fades by Brand New

* * *

"Have you had any attacks lately?" Kakashi asked as they sat crossed-legged on his apartment floor.

Sakura shook her head. "None. Just that one time a few months ago."

"That's good. You're staying ahead of it," Kakashi said, feeling proud of his ex-student. "But Sakura," he said darkly, "Think how much you've grown. The demon is still on your heals."

"I know," she said quietly. "I know..."

He opened his eyes and studied her. "Are you okay?"

Her eyes didn't open She took a while to answer, and when she did her voice was shaky. "I'm fine, Kakashi."

His eyes narrowed. It was obvious that she was not. "What's wrong?"

"I said I was fine," she practically whispered.

"Sakura."

"I'm just tired," she answered.

"Tell me the truth."

She opened her eyes, her emerald eyes met his. "I've been having nightmares."

If he was worried he didn't show it. "How long?"

"Since the attack."

"Why didn't you tell me?" He demanded.

"Because I felt silly," she said, looking off to the side.

"What are they about?"

"Bad things," she answered. She didn't want to go into detail with them.

"Sakura," his tone was stern.

"People I love dying," she answered. "The demon killing them all..."

"Like who?"

"My parents, Naruto, Sasuke, Lee... you."

_Me?_

"Kakashi, I'm sorry, our time is up. I promised Gaara I would meet him later," Sakura announced as she stood up. She walked over to the door, picking her purse up on the way. She put her hand on the door, but otherwise didn't move. She looked glanced behind her towards her former teacher. "Kakashi... thank you." With that, she walked out of his apartment.

"Bye..." He couldn't help but feel a little sting as she left him for Gaara.

* * *

"I'm leaving today," Gaara said as he watched his food dispassionately.

"Oh?" Sakura sipped on her ice tea. Her eyes met his as she waited for him to continue, but all he did was to hold her gaze. "And...?"

"I can't watch you," he stated. He frowned deeply, his seriousness irking Sakura.

"I'm sure that someone else can be assigned to my training," Sakura said, somewhat baffled.

Gaara looked down at his bowl of ramen. He felt almost idiotic trying to explain what he'd been doing for the past months. He looked back up and her and nodded. "Gai will train you." He decided that he would not tell her how he watched her in her sleep.

Her eyes narrowed, obviously he wasn't telling her something. She decided not to push it. "Oh joy."

Even if Gaara was socially retarded, he did not miss the sarcasm in Sakura's tone. He remembered how the flashy ninja acted from the exams. But, as much as his teeth annoyed Gaara, he had a certain amount of respect for him. He saved Lee from him twice now, and his...love for his subordinates was something Gaara had become curious with. "Hn."

"When will you be back?" Sakura asked after a long spell of silence.

"Two days."

"Ah..."

He just looked away.

* * *

"Beautiful youth of Konoha!" Gai stood in an awkward pose, his hips thrust out in front of him with his hands positioned in weird angles above his head. "Let us-"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee! My youthful student!" Gai shouted happily as his attention shifted from Sakura to Lee.

"Gai-sensei! May I join you and Sakura-san in training this glorious morning?"

The older man embraced Lee fiercely, leaving Sakura to watch in horror. "Thank you, Gai-sensei!"

"Okay! Let's do one thousand squats.... with weights!"

"Yes!" Lee strapped the weights to himself, following Gai's example.

Sakura just watched them. They weren't even paying attention to her. She shrugged and turned around. She wasn't in the mood to deal with the green beasts. In their fury of squats, she was easily able to slip away.

Sasuke jumped down from a nearby tree, stopping Sakura. He crossed his arms and glared at her. "Let's spar."

Sakura, a little taken aback, face faulted. "Eh? N-no thanks, Sasuke."

In one fluid motion, Sasuke opened his pouch and pulled out a kunia. He put his finger through the hole and swung it towards Sakura. He stayed like that for a moment, with his hand outstretching the kunai. "Take it."

She obeyed questioningly, but took it. "Why do I need it?"

"Because it's unfair for you to go against me unarmed."

* * *

"700! 701, 702, 703-"

There was a loud crash followed by a sonic boom of chakra.

"Lee!" Gai shouted, looking from side to side. "Where's Sakura?"

The young man's eyes grew wide as he looked around wildly. "Sakura-san?"

They looked at each other for a moment, then they both jumped off towards the explosion. Within minutes, they were at ground zero. Sasuke was standing just above a crater panting heavily. He held his shoulder, wincing from the pain. Lee and Gai appeared next to him.

"What were you doing to Sakura-san?" Lee asked him, pointing an accusing finger. Sasuke simply looked over his shoulder at the crater. Sakura was lying face up, unconscious. Lee's eyes grew wide as he shot everyone with a dramatic look of horror. "SAKURA-SAN!"

* * *

"You went to far."

"Hn."

Kakashi leaned against the wall in the hallway outside Sakura's room. Sasuke had his back pressed against the wall, looking down with his arms crossed. Kakashi stared at the wall in front of him, never looking at the Uchiha.

"Sasuke, if you ever pull anything like this again, I will kill you," Kakashi said, still staring a hole through the wall.

"Hn..." Sasuke stood up strait and walked away.

In the room behind them, Sakura tossed in her bed. The mark on her neck began to grow again, sending stretches of black lines across her skin. She whimpered softly, her nightmares driving her to the brink of tears.

Kakashi, however, was unaware of that. He simply sighed and walked after Sasuke. He would have to have more... _talks _with him.

Sakura bolted upright in her bed. Her dark purple eyes that were not her own scanned the room, finding a family picture. The demon smiled, scratching on of Sakura's fingers against the glass protecting the picture.

_This is going to be fun._

* * *

Just to put your minds at ease... I've already started the next chapter. Please don't kill me. I want to know what you really think of this fic. Reviews are teh roxorz! Heh... Okay. Till next time. 


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